Christian Bale, Only Person Sick of Christian Bale as Batman, Retires Superhero Role

An exciting job opportunity in Hollywood has arisen today for an actor with the abilities to cryptically whisper, spend long periods of time in vacuum-packed latex suits, emotionally handle comparisons to George Clooney, and face thousands of repetitive questions about potential sequels: the role of Batman is apparently up for grabs.

After teasing that the only way he would return as Bruce Wayne's alter-ego was if Christopher Nolan returned for a fourth Batman installment (and Nolan's subsequent denial that that would happen), three-time Batman star Christian Bale has confirmed that he will not be revisiting the DC Comics character for the upcomingJustice League movie. In fact, it sounds as though he will retire the character altogether.

“We were incredibly fortunate to get to make three [Batman films],” Bale demurred to Entertainment Weekly. “That’s enough. Let’s not get greedy.” As for whether he has even been involved in conversations about the Warner Bros. superhero supergroup movie, Bale said, “I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it.” While he did not speculate about a successor, Bale did reveal that he is excited to pass down the part to another face. “It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.”

After Marvel's competing superhero supergroup The Avengers enjoyed a victory at the box office last year, Warner Bros. began re-mounting a Justice League project with Gangster Squad screenwriter Will Beall attached to write the script. When the studio tried making the film in 2008, it reportedly cast Lone Ranger and Social Networkstar Armie Hammer as Batman. For those unfamiliar with the fictional superhero team, it originally featured Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter.